An appeal launched by the manufacturer of an anti-Alzheimer's drug into the processes used by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has ruled that they should have been more transparent in the way they made decisions. The BBC has reported the ruling.

NICE had earlier been supported in five of the six areas that were challenged and were only required to amend one area of the guidance to ensure equal access for people with learning difficulties or whose first language is not English.

This new ruling does not affect the existing guidance for Alzheimer's Drug although NICE may decide to review the guidance after due consideration of the court ruling. The ruling is also likely to impact on future appraisals with the expectation that the process will now become more complex and take longer. This is perhaps not in the best interests of patients or the NHS.

Action: Clinicians should continue to fully implement all existing NICE guidance. Future appraisals may take longer but details of the decision making process may be made available with the final guidance documentation.